Silent screams for help
by writers-fanfics
Summary: Chloe Bourgeois is a mean girl - few friends, hated by most, cold as ice. Or is she? What if she's in desperate need of saving? Will anyone help her? Before it's too late? Before she's at her breaking point?
1. Prolog

Welcome to my first Fanfiction! I hope you'll enjoy it (even though the topic is rather tough - at this point:

TRIGGER WARNING - rape, depression, selfharm)

Please note that english is not my first language, so there's always the chance I'll do grammar or other mistakes. So be gentle with me, okay? :D

Okay, that'd be it. If you like my story, please leave a review and all that stuff. I'd very very greatly appreciate it!

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''Thomas is coming over today, Chloe, I hope you will be on your best behaviour?'', Mr Bourgeois said, looking expectedly at his daughter.  
''Fine, whatever.'', the blonde answered in an annoyed tone of voice, while chewing some gum and looking at her nails as if she was bored.  
Mr Bourgeois beamed, gave a nod and left her room.

As soon as he had stepped out of the door, Chloe released a shaky breath and gulped. She felt panic rising inside of her.  
Of course her father had not noticed how she tensed up at the mere mention of the man.

Thomas Wilson was a friend of her father. He was an American with a thick accent and just as thick eyebrows that made him look ridiculous. Normally Chloe would make fun about people with such significant features. But not with Thomas, she didn't. She flat out feared him.

Ever since she was a little girl, he would come to France for a thing with work (Chloe didn't exactly what it was he was doing, she had never felt the desire to ask) and would then stop by the hotel for a visit which usually lasted a few days.  
When she was lucky, there were ten to eleven months between each visit. If she wasn't so lucky, it was just two or three months - barely enough to recover from the one before.

She had been five years old when her father had first introduced her to Thomas. At that time, he didn't seem too bad. He brought her a gift - a little doll which she had found absolutely gorgeous but had thrown into the trash a few streets away from the hotel just a week later because the simple presency of it inside her room made her anxious- and offered candy. Simple things that easily bought you the way to a kid's heart.

Because she took a liking to him, her father decided that it wouldn't be too inconvenient to let him babysit her for a night while he had to leave the hotel for an important meeting in a different city with another politician.

It wasn't unusual that he left town for a while for work but on other occasions, he had to resort to their (at the time rather young and still a little inexperienced) butler Jean or a babysitter who were quickly fed up with her as she could be pretty bratty and exhausting to be around, especially because she didn't like any of the babysitters her father hired. She had been able to scare off every single one. Her father interpreted this as attention seeking attributes of her character, ever since her mother Audrey Bourgeois left the family for her fashion career. Little did he know, all Chloe really wanted was to be around her father more often.

However since she already knew Thomas and liked him, he figured he could trust that this was gonna work out just fine. He had been delighted when his friend agreed, rather enthusiastically. He told him not to worry about anything. That he would take good care of her and make sure she had fun.  
Mr Bourgeois departed with a content feeling.  
Chloe actually didn't mind, even looking forward to spending time with Thomas as she had lots of fun with him usually.

And she did have fun. He let her watch TV, he made her the food she wanted, he did everything - Chloe felt like an actual princess for the afternoon and the evening. It was all well.  
Until nighttime rolled around. It was already pretty late and she had cuddled into her bed with her cozy yellow pajama and Mr Cuddles who was her dear companion in every situation.

She had almost fallen asleep when she was shaken awake again by the sound of her door creeking open. A bright light fell into her room and she had to use her hand to shield her eyes which had just adjusted themselves to the darkness with the only lightsource being the stars outside. In the doorframe stood Thomas with a smirk and telling her he wanted to play something. Chloe pouted, whining that she was too tired to play more.  
Nonetheless, he closed the door behind him and stepped forward to her bed, sitting down.

Next thing she knew was that he had taken of her pajama bottoms and his hand was inside her underpants.  
She was too young at the time to realise what was going on. The only thing she knew was that she was uncomfortable. She tried telling him that she didn't like the game but he shut her up with a hiss and when that didn't work, with a slap across the face. She instantly started crying but he just covered her mouth with his big hand.  
She was too small to fight back. All she could do was let it happen while desperately holding onto Mr Cuddles for support.

The next morning he came in to get her for breakfast to to tell her that her father would come back in a few hours. He made it very clear what he would do if she told him or anyone for that matter about what happend that night. And his threats were affective. She never lost a word about it.

Not even when Adrien Agreste, her best childhood friend, came over to play a few days after Thomas returned to America. He instantly noticed that his friend was more quiet when usual but she just shrugged it off.

But it only lasted a few weeks. After all, she didn't understand the depth of what happend and just thought it was something some people do.  
It happend again, though. And again. And again. Not everytime he arrived since he didn't always get to be alone with her. But enough to make it sting several weeks.  
She grew older and older. And by the time, she was ten years old, she figured out that it was in fact not normal.  
The even bigger problem was that the bigger she got, the more possibilities Thomas had.  
Especially since two years, the time she got into puberty, he would experience with more activities, as he called it. It started with wanting to see her bras to touching her boobs until he came over on her thirteenth birthday and said that as a gift he would try something special. It was the night where he first penetrated her.

Chloe was forced to keep her cries of pain and fear at bay. If she was to catch attention by someone, he would make her regret it dearly. She knew that, so she kept as still as possible, even though everything inside of her screamed against it, screamed for help. She felt as if her entire body was on fire, her mind cloudy and dizzy from the adrenaline and the hurting.

She cried the entire night and she made her first deep cut in that night. She had self harmed because of this man before, ever since she was eleven years old and started feeling dirty for it, started having names for what he was doing to her: Abuse. Sexual Harassment. Rape.  
But it had only been small cuts, nothing serious, nothing that left serious scars - just enough to give her the satisfaction of having control over something, of covering the disgusting pain with a more reasonable pain.

On her thirteenth birthday however, the cut was so deep that she had trouble to stop it from bleeding. She almost passed out due to blood loss. In the end, she did manage to put a bandage around it and have it secured. Though, she did secretly go to a doctor to have it stitched - being the mayor's daughter, she avoided needing her parents contacted. A simple ''Oh, so you really want to disturb him with the important work? He won't be happy about that, let me tell you that.'' did the job.

Now, Thomas would be there yet again. Possibly another night of pain, terror and sleeplessness due to crying until there were no more tears left to cry. She prayed that he would not get a chance to be alone with her. That her father would not have too much work and give Thomas something to do, other than harrass her.

The man was the reason for her suffering.  
The man was the reason why she built up all these walls around her, a facade that resisted any attempts at humane interaction, avoided the possibility of making friends who would end up hurting her.  
The man was the reason why the only people she could trust were the ones she knew since childhood (Jean and Adrien), Sabrina who was too weak for an attack against her and Ladybug who was a hero and would definitely not hurt her for no reason.  
The man was the reason why she was who she was - mean girl, coldhearted bitch, broken girl.


	2. Thomas

Some time later, the dreaded moment arrived.  
Her father opened the door to her room, a big smile on his face, the words announcing Thomas was coming in a few minute's time leaving his mouth in a sort of singing voice.  
Chloe forced up a smile and a nod, not wanting to disappoint her father.

It might seem like she used him for gifts, following her will and all that kinda stuff most of the time but he was actually very dear to him. Especially after her mother left because she didn't think her family was important enough to keep around and that her career should be put first. Her father didn't leave her and never showed the possibility of doing it. He was loyal to his parental role and while he was away for work a lot, he still found, or at least tried to find, time to spend with her. She simply couldn't hurt him. And accusing his probably best and longest friend of repeatedly raping and harrassing his only daughter would actually break his heart.

So she played the part of the content, snobby teenage girl who was not overly excited over a visit but also wasn't against it.  
Even though, she felt sick just thinking about the fact that she would come face to face with Thomas very soon again - too soon.  
She didn't even really have time to mentally prepare for the encounter.

Feeling numb and slightly trembling at the same time, she slowly stood up from her bed, placing her headphones and laptop on the nightstand and walked towards the door. Her hand automatically stopped to hover over the doorknob. She was standing frozen for a couple seconds before taking a few deep breaths and opening the door to walk out and downstairs.

Her father was awaiting her at the end of the stairs. He was turned away, looking pretty excited and happy. He was telling someone about something, making wild gestures with his hands while doing so.  
Only when she was a few steps away from the ground, she was able to make out who the person was. It was Thomas. He was there.

Chloe stopped -again- dead in her tracks. Her stomach twisted. His bright smile was triggering memories of the countless nights, he had been standing atop of her, flashing a toothy grin at her - though, that one was sinister, while the one he gave her father was innocent, friendly, not suspicious at all. Looking at this man from a stranger's perspective, he appeared to be a normal guy with a good sense of humour and well manners.  
The blonde however knew his real self, the one hidden behind polite words and joke cracking.

She was pulled out of her race of thoughts when her father looked up the stairs and saw her. He smiled wildly, throwing an arm around Thomas' shoulders and pointing at him with the free hand. ''Chloe! There you are! Look, who's here!''  
Once more, she forced the corners of her lips to twirl upwards while desperately hoping it didn't look to much like a grimace.

With shaking knees, she continued her way downstairs.  
''Well, well, look at you. Did you grow a few inches while I was away? I must say, you've become even more beautiful since the last time I saw you.'', Thomas said.  
His words sent a shiver down her spine. And it wasn't a good one. He was the only one who she could not appreaciate a compliment from. It creeped her out because it only reminded her of the whispers in her ear while he was touching her places, she didn't want him or anyone in the near future for that matter to touch her.

Mr Bourgeois laughed out loud. ''Oh, Thomas, always the chameur!''  
''You know me, my friend, I wouldn't pass the opportunity to satisfy a women's wish to be acknowledged. Not that Chloe is in need of that. I assume, you have an infinite queue of admirers?'', he chuckled.  
''There are quite a few.'', her father answered.  
Chloe felt incredibly awkward. Not only were they discussing her love life (to top it off while she was standing right in front of her!), but it was also putting her down that her father didn't see that Thomas' words weren't the jokes he pretended to be making but actually the truth- the disgusting, horrifying truth.

''If you will excuse me, I- I have homework.'', she made up the lie while she was going along.  
Her father looked surprised but approving. ''You're doing it yourself? Not your friend Sabrina? That's great! I'm proud of you, honey.''  
''Yeaaah.'', she just said. ''Um, well then. Bye. Nice to see you again, Thomas.''  
The last sentence burnt like acid in her mouth and she felt like throwing up, just speaking out his name.  
His grin and nod just deepend the feeling.

She slowly began to walk up the stairs until she was out of sight. At that point, she sprinted into her room and throwing herself onto her bed, trying to calm her nerves which were close to a panic attack. What was she gonna do?


	3. News

Her room was completely dark, it was pretty quiet in the hotel and everything seemed to be fine in general. Yet, Chloe still couldn't sleep. She was lying in her bed, blanket pulled up to the brink of her nose and her eyes wide open.

She had long lost count of how many times she had tossed and turned around on her sheets already to try to find a position in which she was able to rest. But it was no use. Her entire body was on hight alert.

She couldn't stay still with the knowledge that Thomas was possibly only a few feet from her room. Who knew, maybe he was even wandering outside her bedroom door, waiting for the right moment to bust in and take advantage of her weak status.

No matter what she did to attempt to calm her nerves, she failed miserably. She sighed deeply, her mind spiraling into all sorts of possible nightmare situations. She didn't want to think about what would happen if he actually came in this night. There was no way she'd be able to defend herself. Not even the last times she had been able to do that. She had always been completely unprepared and caught of guard. Then again, how in hell would you prepare for such a horrid thing? Even with preparation, you wouldn't be able to go through with your plan because in such a situation your brain just shuts off and you're left with only blank fear.

Among an early, ungodly hour, Chloe did manage to fall into a very troublesome sleep. It didn't have the effect, sleep should normally have - which is to relax yourself. It was more the contrary, because she had never felt more tired and at un-ease than now.

To top her already low mood off, she had to sit at the breakfast table with not only her father but -you guessed it- Thomas as well. She spent most of the time, pushing her food with the fork than actually eating it. Every bite felt like it was fighting its way right back up.

''Chloe, I must tell you something. I have some news!'', her father piped up at one point.  
She slowly raised her head to look at him.  
''You surely know that our good friend Thomas here normally only stays for one or two nights. Well, he decided to arrange a change of plans because he's less busy with his work than he first expected to be.''  
Chloe's heart started pounding heavily against her chest. From these words, it was easy to guess what was following and even though, she knew it would have no use, she still silently prayed that he would not say it. _Please no._  
''He's staying for two weeks this time! Isn't that great?"

The sentence cut her like a knife and she unknowingly dropped her fork in shock.  
She tried to hold her breathing under control. At the sight of her father's beaming face and shining eyes, she forced her lips to a smile.  
''Wow, amazing.'', she pressed through gritted teeth.  
Mr Bourgeois nodded enthusiastically.

She went through several minutes of silent suffering until she spoke up again.  
''If you'll excuse me, I'm going upstairs.''  
''Of course, of course.'', her father said quickly.  
Chloe hastily stood up and walked straight to her room where she instantly ran to her bed and threw herself on top of it, burying her face in a pile of pillows and her arms.

There were no tears.  
Instead there was a racing heartbeat like she'd just run a marathon, heavy almost hyperventilating breathing and the feeling of getting her chest crushed.  
It felt close to what one might imagine dying to feel like.  
And the fact that she'd have to go to school in less than an hour, all the while having this scenario replay inside of her mind and feeling so hopeless and terrified, didn't make it much better.  
Although, she had never been more happy to get to school. She would do and endure anything to avoid being close to Thomas. If school was the only way to do that, so be it.

* * *

Sorry, the chapter's pretty short! I didn't have much time today. I'll try to make the next one longer again, promise! :)


	4. Fight

School seemed to drag on endlessly and to be honest, Chloe wasn't complaining.  
She took every minute away from the hotel, where Thomas was staying basically all the time, with gratitude.  
As a result she strayed from insulting anyone, making fun of anyone or talking badly behind people's backs like she normally would do. On normal days, she didn't have any appreciation for the kind of safe haven a closed classroom could have. It was calming to know that nothing could hurt her here. The worst possible thing to happen at school right now would be surprise test.

Unfortunately, the unusual behaviour didn't go unnoticed with her peers. Especially a particular girl with short red hair and glasses who was always on her heel.  
''Hey, um, Chloe, are you okay? You're so quiet today. It's totally not like you... You haven't even thought of giving me your homework to work on yet.'', Sabrina's voice said, with an insecure tone and a twinge of what appeared to be ... worry?

But Chloe wasn't able to hear that out of her voice. All she heard was an accusation of something being wrong. And she couldn't risk her finding out. She couldn't risk anyone finding out. Surely they would make fun of her, judge her... Or worst case scenario, word would get out to Thomas that she showed signs of something being not okay at home since he was there. He would surely freak out - or to word it better, he would get incredibly mad and make her life a living hell, more so than he already did.

So she did the only thing she was able to do, she took advantage of a perfected skill of hers - building walls around her, shutting people out, degrading them. It was a defense mechanism and the only way she knew to protect herself from getting hurt. She didn't think of what it did to others in the process. It happened automatically by now. She used it almost daily. With every single person she came across. Except maybe her father, her butler and of course Adrien. But even with him, she started noticing that she used it on him. Sabrina however was easiest to do it to, since she was easy to manipulate and she listened to every word she said without second doubts. Just like right now.  
''Oh my god, Sabrina, everything is fine. You're being ridiculous, utterly ridiculous. Just shut up. Do you even listen to what you're saying?'', Chloe snapped, very well aware that it was an overreaction.

Sabrina instantly bit her lip, nodding hastily and lowering her head in shame. Chloe felt a twitch of a bad feeling inside her stomach. A bad conscious. But she knew it would seem more suspicious if she apologized now. She never did that, so no one expected it from her, no one thought she was capable of doing it. She couldn't do that now.

''God, Chloe, do you have to be such a brat all the time? All Sabrina did was ask a nice and mindful question and you shut her down like that! It's not how you should treat a friend. That's totally uncool.'', a female voice rang through the room. Marinette Dupain-Cheng. An angry Marinette Dupain-Cheng.  
Great, as if Chloe didn't have enough on her plate already.

''What's your deal, Dupain-Cheng?'', Chloe said with raised eyebrows and crossed arms.  
She gasped for air in frustration. ''What's _my_ deal? What is _your_ deal?''  
Marinette had her cheeks filled with air, she looked to be about angry enough to have steam coming out of her ears if it were only possible.  
''That's such a stupid question. Just like the one Sabrina asked a few minutes ago. I'm surrounded by idiots.''; Chloe sneered.

''Don't you think that's enough now, Chloe?''; Adrien chimed in.  
''What do you mean, Adrikins?''  
''Marinette is right, you know. You're wrong for behaving like that. Sabrina doesn't deserve to be treated like that, neither does Marinette or anyone else.''  
In the back, the dark haired girl was silently squealing about the fact that Adrien Agreste, her longtime die-hard crush, was defending her.  
Chloe scoffed. Even though deep down she wished he was actually defending her. And more than anything right now, she wished to be able to tell him everything that was going on. To be able to explain why she was who she was and did what she did. He would definitely understand. But she couldn't do that now, could she?

''I think I'm not hearing that right, Adrikins. Because it sounds like you're standing on _her_ side when you should be standing on _mine_. That can't be right.'', Chloe said.  
''It is, Chloe. I can't deal with you anymore. How you treat people. How you put yourself above others. I told you once I was done with it, you were able to trick me then and convince me you could change. But I see now that that's not possible. You can't change. And I can't go on like this. I can't be friends with someone like that! I-''

His rant was disturbed by the door of the classroom opening. Miss Bustier stepped in, in a quick pace, panting slightly.  
''I'm so sorry class, for being so incredibly late. I got totally caught up in something. I hope you didn't get too bored. I-, she interruped herself when she took a first glance at the situation, taking place in front of her. Adrien and Chloe standing in front of each other, as if taking part in a ring fight and the others in a half circle around them, watching and listening, some of them even having their hands in mid-air to cheer Adrien on for finally standing up and speaking out against Chloe. ''Seems like you weren't. Oh well, then. But now please sit down. I'd like not to lose more time, okay?''

One by one everyone gathered on their seats. Chloe was the last one standing.  
''Miss Bourgeois? Please. Take your seat.''  
The blonde blinked a few times and then walked to her table. Everything from then on seemed to be going in slow motion for the entirety of the day.  
Adrien basically just ended their friendship. He was done... done with her. Without him, she was alone, completely and utterly alone. She had officially no one left to rely on, to put in a good word for her and her ruthless behaviour, to spend time with for real. She had lost the only person who truly meant something to her. And it was her own damn fault.

So, like I promised, this chapter is longer than the last ones! :)

I hope you like my story. If you do, please remember to give me some feedback. I would be really happy about that!


	5. Pain

Night time of a tuesday rolled around.  
Chloe was desperate to fall asleep, tears brimming her eyes and wetting her cheeks as the entirety of the last three days had been a total disaster.  
Not only did she have a hard falling out with Adrien who told her in front of the whole classroom that she was not worth his attention and friendship, he also hadn't spoken a word to her or even looked at her the days after. And Chloe felt absolutely miserable because of it.

But not just because of Adrien's consistency of ignoring her. No, the worst part of those last days was that Thomas seemed to have a lot of enjoyment in taking advantage of her already weakend persona.  
He had given her a nightly visit every single day since she came home a few days ago, with low head and hanging shoulders, directly moving to her room and staying there to drown herself in self-pity.

And today it had been the most terrible experience of all time.  
Chloe had already gone to bed at a very early hour, completely sleep-deprived from the nights before, expecting to get a good night's sleep now since her father was home and Thomas surely wouldn't be able to get into her room as he would be occupied with his friend.  
Unfortunately, she was let down once again. She wondered if there really was such a thing as karma and if she actually had done so much bad in her life that it just decided to hit her with payment for all of it in the span of a week. It would explain a lot.

Thomas did manage to come up into her room and sneak into it.  
With a bright grin, he had stood there. ''Good news, my dear. Your father was called to an unexpected meeting. He will be gone for at least an hour. This leaves us some time alone for a little fun.''

Shortly after he strode to her bed, ripping the blanket from her small body frame, followed by her clothes which he pulled from her. Chloe was too intimidated to fight back. She was basically frozen on the spot. She didn't have time to mentally shut down which she normally did, in order to cope better with the situation. But on this short notice, she was overwhelmed by fear.  
Only when he smirked evily and whispered into her ear that they would try something new, the life returned to her body. She didn't want to go down. She wanted to be brave for once.

And so she attempted to make a run for it. She had absolutely no interest in the fact that she was only with her pajama top and underpants. She planned to run past him and out of her room, to hide until her father would come back and then walk back to her room. Fast and painless.  
Wrong. Definitely the wrong move.

As soon as she ran, he grabbed upper arm, yanking her back and as a reflex she hit his side. He didn't even budge. Just his eyes narrowed and it was at this moment, Chloe knew that she was done for.  
In one quick movement he punched her in the left side of her face, pushed her onto the bed where she was lying paralyzed from the pumping pain in her head.

But of course he wasn't finished with her then. He grabbed her arms, turning her around so she was positioned on her stomach and pulled down the last piece of clothing shielding her body, leaving her completely revealed and unprotected.  
He took her from behind, penetrating her. She knew if she were to cry out in pain, she would only make things worse for herself so she let it happen quietly, tears silently dropping on her bedsheet. The only occasional noise was a whimper here and there when she really was flooded with the effects of the sudden hit.

She didn't remember how long it lasted. She didn't remember him pulling up his pants and leaving the room. She also didn't remember at what point she started to move again and put on her own clothes again.  
She returned to her bed and stared at the ceiling, tears kept on spiiling from her eyes - which was the position she was in right now. It had probably been about an hour when she just couldn't handle it anymore. What did she have to lose? What was worth holding on anymore?

She very slowly moved out of bed - slowly because her entire body was feeling like it was on fire and every movement burned like hell.  
Her feet brought her into her bathroom where she dragged herself to a little cabinet. She opened it and got out an old jewellry box. She hadn't opened it in years. She hadn't thought she'd ever need it as desperately again. She was wrong. Just like always.  
She didn't know how else to bear the pain.  
Chloe took off the lid of the box, revealing a shining razor blade.

Wow, I'm so honoured at how much love this fanfic is getting. 300 views, 5 follows, 2 favourites... I mean, it may not be much to a lot of people but for just a few days this is kind of a big deal for me, so thanks!


	6. Run

Chloe took off the lid of the box, revealing a shining razor blade. Still as sharp as she had left it.  
With shaking fingers, she took the blade out of the box, which she placed on the sink.  
She looked at it for a long time before directing it to her lower arm, near the elbow crease. She sat it down and slid it across her pale skin. The pain shot through her body but in contrast to the one Thomas was causing her, this was relieving in a way she couldn't explain. Over this pain, she was the master - she was able to control it.

Time ticked by as Chloe simply sat on the bathroom floor, leaning againt the bathtub and watching her blood pool in her elbow crease before trickling down her arm, drop by drop.  
It was somewhat calming her, in a very twisted way.  
She didn't know how much time had passed when she finally decided to get cleaned up and treat her wound. She stood up, apparently a little too fast as she felt a little dizzy but the feeling was gone as fast as it had come.

She went to turn on the sink but quickly realised that it would be complicated to get the water over her cut, so she settled for the shower. She got out of her clothes, kicking them into a corner of the room, not caring to put them in the clothing bin.  
She turned on the shower and stepped under it. The water poured over her body, cleansing it from her own blood, washing away the signs of what she found to be her weakness.

For a long time, she just watched the red water slowly turning clearer and when she had made sure, the bleeding had calmed down, she turned the water off again and walked out.  
First thing she did was grab a towl and dry her arm and take a bandage to cover the cut which was pretty deep. But at least it wasn't bleeding anymore.  
It was only when she began drying up her face and a sharp pain shot through her, that she noticed the result of her attempted flight of Thomas - when he had slapped her hard in the face to demonstrate his power over her.

Panic seemed to strangle her and she didn't know why - maybe the sudden memory of what happened just a few hours ago and the fact that he had her left this time not only with mental aftercauses but also with physical reminders of his tormenting acts triggered a panic attack inside of her.  
No matter what it actually was, she just knew that she felt unable to breathe. The air appeared to get thinner, the walls seemed to move closer, seemed to move in on her, ready to crush her.

Without second thoughts, she returned to her room, picking random clothes through a curtain of tears blurring her vision and throwing them on before then finally making a run for it. She didn't consciously know where her feet were bringing her. She just ran. Out of her room, down the stairs, past the guards, out of the hotel, just through the streets which were being lighted by street lights as it was slowly getting darker outside. Yet it was still warm outside. Chloe wanted to curse herself for wearing a jacket out because it was sweat driving to simply be out at this temperature, and she was also running. Not a good combination. Then she thought back to the thick bandage around her lower arm and the fact that she didn't cover the fading other scars on her wrist and arm with makeup as she usually would do - and realised it was for the better.

She wasn't aware of any of her surroundings. She was running without a clear focus, the tears making it hard to see where she even was right now. She just knew she needed to get away. Away from the hotel, away from Thomas. As far as possible.  
However, she was stopped very abruptly and unexpected when she crashed into someone who she didn't see coming. She didn't fall, neither did the other person, yet they still both tumbled and had to take a few seconds to get their balance back up.

''Uff. Sorry, I thought you might slow down, I should have stopped but-'', the person in front of Chloe said, with a slight tone of confusion and apologetic guilt and only now did she start to realise who it was. ''Oh. Chloe.''  
''Ladybug?''


	7. Help

''Chloe, what- wait, are you crying?'', Ladybug asked shocked. She had never seen the blonde girl so distraught. Of course she had seen her sad before but it was more because she was playing an act or because of selfish reasons. This however seemed serious. Her makeup was smeared, her entire body trembling with sobs, her eyes puffy and red.

''N-no, I'm-, i-it's nothing'', she replied, wiping her face with the sleeve of her jacket. Ladybug wondered why she was even wearing one, after all it was super hot outside. She would give everything to have a more appropriate superhero outfit and Chloe Bourgeois was running around in a long jacket - Wasn't she afraid of getting sweat stains or something? It wasn't like her to take risks of anything like that.

''Yeah sure'', Ladybug said sarcastically. When she noticed that one of Chloe's eyes was actually puffy from something other than crying though, she was worried. The eye didn't have a red colour, it was starting to become blue. Someone hit her. The dark haired girl took some quick steps forward to inspect it more. She frowned. ''Chloe, seriously, what happened? Who did this to you?''

Those words seemed to trigger some strongly repressed emotions, with a loud inhalation of air, accompanioned by bone breaking sobs, she just collapsed. Ladybug was fast enough to catch her and rather helplessly kneeled on the ground, holding the violently shaking and weeping girl in her arms who could hardly catch a breath between the truly heartshattering cries.

After quite some time, Chloe had stopped crying - not exactly because she was finished but more so because there were simply no more tears left.  
Ladybug slowly pulled away and put her hands on her shoulders, looking at her worriedly.  
''Chloe... I need to ask you again. What happened?''

She hesitated a long moment.  
Her mind was trying to comprehend and make out whether she was able to talk about it, about him, with Ladybug.  
In the end, she decided it was worth the try. After all, she was a superhero, right? Surely, she would know what to do. Surely, she would not judge her.

She gulped and with a voice which was quite hoarse from crying for so long, she started to explain what had been going on - for almost 10 years now.  
She had to break her explanation numerous times to recollect the strength to go on.  
The entire time, Ladybug stayed quiet. For one, to give Chloe all the time she needed without pushing her and for other, because she was just stunned and completely caught off guard by what the girl was going through. Without anyone knowing, anyone helping her. She had been going through this absolutely terrible, unspeakable thing and no one knew. So many people despised her for her behaviour, even though it was, and Ladybug understood that now, just a facade to keep herself safe, protect herself from getting hurt.

When she was finished with the story, ending on the point, she had found her, it was silent for some time.  
''I'm so sorry, Chloe. I- I don't even know what else to say.''  
The blonde hung her head and shrugged helplessly, not knowing what to say either.

''Do you want me to bring you home?'', she asked cautiously.  
Like the snap of a finger, Chloe's head shot up, her eyes pierced by fear. ''No. I can't go there. He's gonna be there. I- I can't. At least not now, not tonight.''  
''Okay.'', Ladybug replied softly, holding up her hands in a calming manner. She thought for a moment. ''I could take you to Marinette Dupain-Cheng's house. She's a friend of mine and I'm sure she would-''  
''She hates me. I... I don't think she'd truly want me there.'', Chloe sighed. ''I don't think anyone would want me. No one likes me.

Ladybug felt a twitch of guilt in her heart. But she knew it was true. Kind of. Only because no one knew what was really going on and why Chloe was the way she was. No one could be able to go through so much pain alone and come out fine and kind hearted. She wanted to help her desperately. She couldn't just leave her, she needed to-  
Suddenly, she had an idea. ''I know where you can go.''

A few moments later, the girls stood in front of the Agreste Mansion, waiting for someone to answer.  
''I don't know if this is such a good idea... I- Adrien and I, we had a fight and he doesn't-''  
The assistant Natalie opened. Ladybug asked whether Adrien was at home which the woman confirmed. She let them in when Ladybug told her it was an emergency. She went to lead them to his room but the superhero just declined politely, saying that they knew the way perfectly well on their own.  
While walking upstairs, she replied to Chloe's statement. ''It's gonna be fine. I promise.''

She knocked on Adrien's door and just seconds later, his voice piped up with a ''Come in''.  
She was nervous to enter his room but she pulled herself together. After all, this was an emergency and she was Ladybug, not Marinette.  
She opened the door and took a few steps forward.

Adrien looked up when he didn't hear the voice of Natalie like he expected. What or more so who he saw surprised him obviously.  
''Ladybug?'', he blurted out, jumping up and coming nearer with quick steps. ''What are you doing here?''  
''I have a request for you. And I hope that you're not gonna deny it.'', she said.  
He raised his eyebrows, going to ask what it was when his question answered itself in form of Chloe Bourgeois walking out of the hidden place behind Ladybug. She had her head down, fidgeting her fingers.

''Chloe?'', he now said, confused. Basically repeating his question, ''What are you doing here?''  
Ladybug took it upon herself to reply. ''She needs you, Adrien. You two should have a talk. You'll understand what I mean. Just forget for a moment that you had a fight, okay? She really needs you to be her friend right now.''  
She then turned to Chloe, putting a hand on her shoulder and saying quietly ''Just tell the truth. It'll be easier.''  
Then she quickly walked away, yelling a goodbye before throwing her yoyo out of an open window of Adrien's room and swinging herself outside and across some trees.

She landed on a bigger branch, close enough to Adrien's window to look inside but not be immediately spotted from inside.  
To her relief, she saw Chloe talking, with her head still low. Her eyes appeared to be closed but she couldn't exactly tell from the distance. What she could see happening next was Adrien's growing more and more into an emotional mess of anger, sadness and shock. As soon as Chloe stopped moving her mouth, he closed the distance between them and pulled her into a gentle hug. Soon enough Chloe returned it, burying her face in the crook of his neck.  
While on the one hand, she felt better that the blonde was in good hands now, on the other hand Ladybug couldn't help but feel a twinge of jealousy but scolded herself for it. After all, this was absolutely and a hundred percent nothing to be jealous of.


	8. School

It was much easier to stand up the next day. She had been able to get a good amount of sleep for the first time since she had gotten the news that Thomas would visit again. She felt safe here, in the Agreste Mansion, in Adrien's room. Adrien. She was so unbelievably happy when he had pulled her into a hug the evening before. She had been so scared he would reject her before she even got the chance to say a word. But he had listened to her and he understood her. He had forgiven her. Thanks to Ladybug.

Gabriel Agreste had been a little irritated by the sudden night visitor but he didn't say much about it. Apparently he wasn't too fazed by it, even though it had been years since Chloe last stayed over night. But she didn't complain because she really didn't want to think of an excuse for her nightly stay. Adrien just stepped in and told him she would stay some time. His tone of voice demanded no questions and his father got the underlying message.

Later at school, they were the center of attention. After all, last time they had seen the two together was when they were having a serious fight in Miss Bustier's classroom, with Adrien's last words being about how he was absolutely through with her and basically didn't want to waste his time with her anymore. So it was obvious that they would attract looks and whispers.  
But for once in her life, Chloe didn't enjoy the attention she was getting. For once she actually just wanted to blend in, be invisible, have everyone focus on something or someone else.

In class, the next thing sought stares. Adrien walked up to Sabrina and Nino and asked whether they would mind switching up seats. Too shocked to reply anything else, they instinctly nodded.  
Adrien held up one arm to show the entrance to the bank to Chloe, like a gentleman would do. Chloe couldn't resist a smile and slid onto the seat, followed by Adrien who sat down next to her.

At this point, one row behind them, Alya was nearly losing her mind and looking back and forth between her best friend Marinette, who was completely unimpressed by the whole thing which seemed incredibly suspicious, and the two in front of them.  
''Girl, are you alright? Adrien just made Nino switch seats with Chloe and you don't have anything to say about it? Have you already died or what is going on?'', she hissed.

Marinette looked at her, smiling softly. ''No, it's fine. There's nothing going on between them. He's just being nice.''  
Alya raised an eyebrow. ''And which little bird told you that for you to be so sure about that?''  
''I just know it.'', Marinette answered.  
Her best friend was obviously very freaked out by her omnious behaviour but she couldn't really tell her that she met Chloe last night as Ladybug and specifically brought her to Adrien, now could she?

Alya decided that she couldn't really get anything else out of her, so she gave it up. Eventually she did almost have a stroke though, when Adrien placed his hand on Chloe's and squeezed it a little. All the while Marinette stayed completely calm. Because she had a pretty good side view on the blonde in the row in front of her and she was able to tell that Chloe had been fidgeting with her hands nervously and been getting upset in general. So the hand squeeze was nothing more than a harmless, innocent attempt at comforting a friend who's going through a tough time - a very, very tough time.

Poor Alya through was not so calm. Marinette was starting to wonder if she was more freaking out over Adrien and Chloe bonding again or Marinette showing no signs of fury or sadness or any kind of negative emotion at all. It was a teeny tiny bit funny as well though. She just had absolutely no clue what was going on.

A break rolled around soon enough. Chloe was on her way to get a book from her locker when she was startled to a stop. Through the masses of teenage students, it was easy to see the grown man standing in the hallway, looking around with grim expression.  
Chloe was basically frozen on the spot, not even giving snarky remarks to the kids bumping into her because they didn't notice she had stopped walking. Her eyes were fixed on the man - how and why was he here? Was she not even spared in school?

She tried moving her feet to run away, hide from him, but they didn't budge. It was as if they were glued in place.  
A few feets away, a dark haired girl noticed Chloe's strange behaviour. When she followed the direction of Chloe's staring with her own eyes and saw the man, she was able to count one and two together. In seconds, she was at Chloe's side.

''Come with me.'', Marinette said and grabbed Chloe's hand, forcing her to stumble on behind her and follow in her path.  
While quickly walking through the halls, her eyes skimmed the surroundings until they fell on the bathroom door.  
''Go.'', she ordered, opening the door and pushing the blonde,who was not able to say anything, in. She slammed the door and leaned against the wall, trying her best to appear natural.

No sixty seconds later, Thomas marched into her sight. He sneeked around the halls, his eyes wandering over the students, like a luring animal ready to catch its prey.  
When he was close enough, Marinette spoke up at him. ''Hi! Excuse me, can I help you? You look like you're searching for something.''  
She smiled her best and most innocent smile.

He smirked. ''Yes. In fact, I do. Do you know a Chloe Bourgeois?''  
''Yeah, sure, she's in my class. Should I tell her something for you?''  
''No, but I could use some information about her whereabouts. Her father wants her to get this lunch bag. I offered to get it to her-''  
''Oh, I can give it to her! Just-''  
''No!'', he growled. Then he quickly rearranged himself and continued in a more gentle voice. ''I mean, no, thank you. I'd rather give it to her myself, if you understand. Do you know where she is?''  
''Oh... Yeah, I get it. No, right, yeah, I mean, I think I saw her go that way.'', Marinette said, pointing into a random direction.  
He grinned widely, showing his white teeth. ''Thank you very much.''  
She giggled and waved behind him. ''No problem!''

After a few more seconds, the bathroom door opened again and Chloe stepped out, looking around and breathing out heavily in relief. Then she straightend herself and crossed her arms, through it looked more like hugging herself than actually being in an angry pose.  
''Why did you do that?''  
''Well, you looked very uncomfortable when you saw him and I thought I'd help you out. YOu know, that's what nice people do. They're nice and help others.''  
Chloe looked pretty suspicious and tense. Marinette realised that it had no use since she was a terrible liar. So she tried to put in as much informaton as possible without revealing too much. ''Okay, I'll admit it. Ladybug may or may not have talked to me about you...''

Upon her clearly rising panic, Marinette quickly threw in: ''Nothing specific. Just something about troubles at home. Which is supposedly also the reason why you get along with Adrien again. Because he's helping you out. Anyways, she said that you could use some kindness, so-''  
''Oh, so I'm your charity work? To show Ladybug what a nice girl you are?''  
''No! I-'', she sighed. Chloe really was a hard nut to crack. ''Look, I just wanna help. We may not like each other but that doesn't mean I'm gonna let you stand in the rain, okay? Really, if you have troubles, and Ladybug made it sound like it was really big troubles, then I'm gonna help out. I mean, we're classmates. And after all, if Ladybug trusts you, you must be worth it, right? Right. I mean, that's enough for me.''

She was aware that she was rambling like a madmen, trying her hardest to convince Chloe, she wasn't doing this for brownie points. But apparently she already did convince her. And kind of touch her, in a way?  
Because the blonde looked to the ground, shifting her foot and nodded slowly. ''Thank you, Marinette.''  
Marinette blinked a few times. ''Excuse me?''  
''I said Thank you. For helping. I really needed the help. I would have been done for without you. So thank you.'', she said. ''Don't make me repeat that.''  
''Okay.'', Marinette chuckled a little. ''Well, you're welcome.''  
Maybe they weren't doomed to be arch enemies after all. They might not become friend, but who knows maybe they wouldn't hate each other in the future.


	9. Mirror

Chloe stared at her own reflection in the mirror of the Agreste's bathroom. She couldn't help but hate who looked back at her.  
Everyone probably thought she was this self-absorbed, self-loving narcissist. In reality, she hated herself, everything about herself.  
She couldn't stand looking at this blonde girl who commanded everyone to do her will, just because her life was falling apart and she couldn't find a different way to deal with it, other than making her peers suffer with her. She felt pathetic. How could she have been so dumb? As if having others feeling bad would make herself feel any less lonely or unworthy of love.

She hadn't noticed that she started shaking. For once in a seemingly endless time, it wasn't because of sadness but because of anger. Anger at herself, her actions, how she treated others. Anger at Thomas, what he did to her, who he forced her to become. Anger at the entire world.  
And just like that, her anger materialised in the form of a punch. With one motion, she balled her hand into a fist and took a powerful swing at the girl in front of her. A loud crashing sound announced the breaking of the glass.

Her breathing started slowing down a little. It had felt good to do that, she had to admit that.  
But only for a second. Now all that was left was a numbing emptiness inside of her. Emotionless she looked down at her hand which was slowly loosening out of the fist. Her knuckles were bleeding from the encounter with the mirror. But she didn't feel any pain. She didn't feel anything.

She didn't even notice that the door had opened up behind her until Adrien let out a loud ''Oh my god!''  
Chloe didn't move a muscle. She just stood there, in a pool of shattered glass pieces and her dripping blood.  
Suddenly Adrien appeared next to her, with big eyes and an open mouth. ''I- what happened?''  
She didn't respond. He gulped and just silently nodded while taking in the mess.

He placed his hands on her shoulders and guided her out of the bathroom and to his room where he gently pushed her onto the side of his bed.  
''I'll be right back.'', he said and jogged out of her view.  
A few minutes later, he came back, a white little case in his hands - a first aid kit.

He kneeled down in front of her and started working on her hand. First, he looked for broken pieces that were stuck in her skin and removed those. When he was content with it, he started applying salve and bandages. In the process of that, the numbness began fading from Chloe's body and at one point where he pulled a little too strong, she hissed quietly.

He automatically jumped and pulled a grimace. ''I'm sorry.''  
Chloe overcame shame. She got herself into this mess, he was kind enough to help and now he felt guilty because she was in pain from something that was her own fault?  
''No, it's fine.'', she whispered. She was silent a few seconds, then continued in a hushed voice while keeping her head low. ''I'm sorry. For the mirror. oI- I shouldn't have-''  
''Seriously? Chloe, you and I both know very well that my family can afford a thousand mirrors and more.'', he secured the bandage, then got off his knee and instead sat down next to her, placing his hand on hers. ''I don't care about the stupid mirror. You could smash stuff all you want, for what I care, as long as it makes you feel better. I just don't want you to hurt yourself, you know?''

Chloe swallowed a lump in her throat and resisted the urge to let the tears flow again. They didn't have such a heartfelt conversation in a long time. The last time they had been really serious was when Adrien's mother disappeared and before that, when her mother left.  
She could barely believe her own ears. No one else cared about her like that.

Apparently, her eyes did pool with tears again because her vision started blurring and also Adrien pulled her into a comforting hug, stroking her back.  
''I'm your friend, Chloe. I have been for a long time. And I'm sorry, I didn't notice what was going on and wasn't there for you earlier. But I am now. I'll always be. You're not alone anymore.''  
Chloe sniffled. ''Thank you. Just... just thank you.'', she mumbled into his shoulder.  
''Of course.'', he said. ''I'm here for you.''

I'm sorry, in comparison to the last chapters this one is rather short. Next ones are gonna be longer again!


	10. Home

Numbness was all Chloe could feel at the moment.  
She was feeling empty and numb. No emotion was able to surpass her concious mind.  
She had just started to slowly, very slowly get better.  
And now, the enitre progress was done for.  
All because her father couldn't wait it out.

It had been quite early in the morning, when Natalie knocked on the door and announced that Butler Jean was standing downstairs, on the order of Mr Bourgeios to get his daughter to come back home again, as she had apparently been staying long enough over at Adrien's and he didn't see any necessity in letting her stay any longer.  
He wanted her to be in the hotel, he said.

And even though Adrien tried his best to get his own father to talk to Mr Bourgeios about rethinking his intention without giving anything away about why specifically Chloe didn't, actually couldn't, stay there, it had no use.  
Mr Agreste was of the opinion that no one should question a father's request considering his child. He didn't want to interfere with his plans or upbringing of his own daughter.

So, Chloe was left with no other choice than accept what her father expected of her. She went back up to Adrien's room to grab the few things she had had on her when she arrived - her phone and clothes from the day. At the moment, she was wearing a borrowed hoodie from Adrien, which may have been way too baggy on her but it was comfortable and it was the only source of safety she was able to keep on her way back to the hotel. Her home which was actually the embodiment of a hellhole momentarily. She connected it with only bad things right now. She couldn't think of the good times, the only memories riding at the top of her head were those of Thomas and his actions on her.

She spent the rest of the day, hiding in her room, buried in blankets on her bed, hugging a pillow and staring blankly at the wall.  
The hours ticked by without her moving a muscle.  
Her father checked on her a few times, trying to find out what was going on but she was staying mute, not giving away a word.  
After a few minutes of absolute silence, he always gave up again and left her alone again.

The first time something actually made her move up and out of bed was when Ladybug appeared in front of her window and lightly knocked on it.  
Chloe jumped out of bed and opened it up to let the superhero in. She directly asked what was going on.

''I can't get you out of here but I still want to make sure you're safe, even though you're not at Adrien's anymore. What happened before should never ever happen again. So, I'm giving you this.'', she said and held up her hand in which she was holding something. Chloe opened her own hand and Ladybug dropped a tiny metal plate with a red button, protected by a loose lid, into it. ''If you open the lid and push the button, Chat Noir and I will be alerted immediately. And we will be there as soon as possible to stop what's happening from happening. Just let your window stay open at all times so we can get in to help.''

Chloe stared at the little button in admiration a few solid seconds.  
''I- Thank you.'', she whispered, touched by the gesture, touched by the fact they actually cared enough about her to go to these measures of making sure they were able to protect her from Thomas' wrath.  
Ladybug smiled and nodded.

''But how did you even know I'm not at Adrien's anymore?'', Chloe questioned.  
''He informed us about it. Or more so, he called Chat Noir who then contacted me and together we worked to find a solution. We came with up with that. Marinette also helped.'', Ladybug said, trying to catch bonus points with Chloe for her 'normal girl' alter ego.  
''I don't know what to say...''  
''You don't have to say anything. Of course, we're helping out. I gotta go now. But you know now how to get out attention when you run into troubles with him again. Just don't take advantage of it.''

''I won't, don't worry. I can't take any risks of having you stop helping me. Then I wouldn't have anyone.'', she said quietly, adverting her eyes.  
Ladybug placed a hand on her shoulder. ''There's always someone out there willing to help. It's often the most unexpected people. But remember: Good things come to good people. If you start being nicer to others, they'll be very willing to help, I'm sure of it. I mean, I know now why you're so on offense all the time. It's self protection. I get it. But sometimes you gotta take the risk of trusting something.''  
''You're right. I will try to think of it in the future.''  
Ladybug smiled, gave a nod and waved goodbye before throwing her yoyo and swinging out into the night.  
Chloe stayed back, looking back down at the small thing in her hands, which was giving her such an immense boost of hope. Hope, something she didn't feel in a seemingly endless time.

* * *

Next chapter is going to be the last one! :O

Thanks to everyone for sticking along, I'm happy this fanfic is getting appreaciated :)


	11. Epilogue

Marinette didn't know how to react when just one day after she had given Chloe the little button for help calling, she felt the little buzz go off inside her pocket, giving the warning that something was happening.  
She quickly made up an excuse to get out of watching a movie with her parents as she had actually promised to do and ran up the stairs into her room.  
''Tikki, fast, Chloe needs us. Spots on!''

In the blink of an eye she stormed out of her room through the trapdoor on the ceiling and swung into the dimmering city of Paris, in the direction of the hotel.  
She arrived at the same time as Chat Noir who looked very distressed.  
''We gotta get to her window. I told her to leave it open so we can get in easily.''  
''Then let's not waste any time.'', Chat Noir demanded and took a leaping jump up the wall of the hotel.

However, when they got to Chloe's window it wasn't open. The curtains were closed as well.  
The two superheroes looked at each other, now on even higher alert than before.  
''Front door.'', they said simultaneously.  
So they returned to the ground and continued from there to run through the entrance of the building.  
Inside they had a quick look around.

There were some employees standing and talking with each other, a few of them looking up at the sight of Paris' heroes. Mr Bourgeios was chatting with Butler Jean.  
Ladybug took big steps forward them and gave clear instructions: ''You, call the police. Mr Bourgeios, follow us.''  
With that, she and Chat Noir took off again.  
Mr Bourgeios looked startled for a moment before he hastily ran after them.  
''What's going on?'' His voice had a confused tone.  
''No time for explanations. We need to get to Chloe before it's too late.'', was Chat Noir's reply. He looked very determined to be as fast as possible.  
''Chloe? What is with my daughter?'', he asked worriedly.  
He didn't get an answer this time as they had now arrived at the room.

Chat Noir tried to open it but it was locked. His eyes narrowed before he took a step back and then jumped against the door with full force, breaking it open.  
As a result, they got the view of Thomas pinning a helpless and crying Chloe to the bed, bending over her, while they were both bottomless.  
Their heads shot towards the three in the doorway. Thomas' mouth dropped open and his eyes widend in shock.  
''T-Thomas... I...'', Mr Bourgeios stammered, not believing his own eyes.

As he seemed to finally snap completely, an absolutely furious Chat Noir jumped into action as he tackled the man.  
Mr Bourgeios ran to his daughter and closed her into his arms, where she was quick to cling onto him, sobbing into his chest - partly because she was still traumatised, partly because she was just relieved and glad that it was finally over.  
''Get her out of here! Now!'', Ladybug yelled.  
He gave a firm nod, then took the blanket of Chloe's bed to wrap her inside of it to shield her from other people's view and gently guided her outside.

When she was sure, they were gone, Ladybug turned to her partner and the criminal who were rolling on the floor, fighting.  
In the exact moment, Thomas landed a good punch. Chat Noir stumbled back, rubbing his jaw shortly before going into another attack. Ladybug didn't know what to do. She wasn't finding any good way to enter the fight.  
As of now, Chat Noir was able to pin his opponent down and prevent him from fleeing. Because the man was now rendered defenseless, the cat used his chance to leave out all of his anger towards him. He let punches pretty much rain down on him, without ever stopping once.

At one point, though, Ladybug just needed to step in.  
''Chat Noir! Chat, _stop_!''; she screamed. ''Come on, he's down, he's had enough. He'll get what he deserves, I swear!''  
''This. _This_ is what he deserves.''; he simply replied, shooting his fist down once more.  
Ladybug tried to get him off of him, but he just didn't seem to budge.  
"Chat, you're killing him! Stop! It won't do any good. Please."

Only the sound of his lady basically begging him to stay humane and hero-like, which did not include punching your enemy to death but to bring him behind bars, managed to snap him out of this trance, led by pure fury and hatred.  
He shook his head hardly, then took a few deep breaths and pushed away from the criminal who was laying motionless and with blood-streamed face on the floor, in too much pain as to be able to run away or even move at all.

Ladybug put a hand on his shoulder and smiled very slightly. He returned an exhausted smirk.  
They raised their fist to a ''Pound it!'' but as soon as they touched just the faintest bit, he instantly hissed and pulled away.  
''You must have broken your hand during your rescue mission.'', Ladybug stated, a little bit worried.  
The corner of his mouth lifted. ''I'll be fine, M'Lady.''

Just a few minutes later, a few police men walked into the room, took a short glance through the thrashed room and down at the bruised villain and the two superheroes. They looked at each other, shrugged and went to collect their criminal to put him in handcuffs and take him with them.

(Next day)  
Word had gotten around quickly that Ladybug, Chat Noir and the police paid the hotel a visit the night before. Chloe had been offered by her father to take a few days, or weeks, off of school to have time to readjust and heal. But she had denied the offer because she wanted to be strong, even though she knew it wasn't necessary. However, she couldn't just sit home, wondering what everyone was talking about in school about her.

Despite her fears and worries, people weren't laughing or throwing her dirty looks or whispering behind her back.  
Several people came up to her to apologize or to tell her that it was gonna get easier with time. People were understanding of her behaviour.  
Most surprising on this day for her was though that Marinette Dupain-Cheng was actually continueing her activity of being nice to her. She had thought that maybe that day with the bathroom escape had been an exception.  
Maybe it was true. Maybe it was gonna get easier - not just the trauma and pain. But also life in general. Maybe she should just let her guard down and trust that nothing bad was gonna happen. That not everyone is out to hurt her.

Meanwhile Marinette was sitting with Alya at a table.  
''Hey, you two.'', Adrien's voice said behind them suddenly.  
''Oh, oh, h-hey, Adrien.''; Marinette stuttered, her cheek heating up and her lips forming into a wide smile.  
''How are you two doing?''  
''Uh-uh-uh, good. Yeah, totally good.'', Marinette said before realising something. ''I-I mean considering the whole situation. What happend last night at Chloe's- terrible, absolutely terrible, I-''  
''Hey, Adrien, what's up with your hand?'', Alya threw in. On the one hand, because she actually wanted to know, on the other hand to sneakily shut her rambling friend up.

Only now did Marinette notice his hand was in a thick bandage. Her eyes started to widen.  
''Oh yeah that.'', he laughed nervously. ''I broke it yesterday when I, uhm, I-''  
''No.'', Marinette couldn't hold it in. ''It can't be... you... Adrien, you...''  
''What?'', both of her friends asked confused.  
The girl jumped to her feet. ''Sorry, Alya, we gotta do something real quick.'', she said and pulled Adrien with her by his sleeve.  
Alya blinked in surprise. When did Mari become able to touch him without freaking out?

A few feet away, Marinette stopped her rapid walking.  
Adrien stood in front of her with his head tilted to the side but laying on a nice, oblivious smile.  
''So, what did you want to talk about, Marinette?''  
Without any second thoughts, she just looked him in the eyes and burst out. '' _Chat Noir?_ ''

* * *

Sooo, this would be it. Sorry for the cliffhanger lol. But after all this fanfic was centered around Chloe and this little subplot is not belonging to the topic anymore ;)  
I very much hope you enjoyed my fanfic! Please tell me what you think of it! I appreaciate the feedback, no matter if good or critical, just please don't be mean :)  
Thank you all for reading, reviewing, favouriting and following this story!


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